Men's basketball: CU Buffs boost NCAA résumé

CU edges Stanford in key road game

STANFORD, Calif. -- There is a new banner at Maples Pavilion that reads: 2012 NIT champions.

The disappointing Cardinal will likely get a chance to defend the title unless it wins the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.

And the Buffs?

Well, Colorado solidified its NCAA Tournament chances with a dramatic 65-63 victory over Stanford here on Wednesday night in front of a bipartisan crowd of 4,395.

Josh Scott missed his second consecutive games due to symptoms from a concussion sustained on Feb. 16 against Arizona State.

But Andre Roberson made up for the 6-10 freshman's absence by ignoring flu-like symptoms and scoring a season-high 24 points on 9-for-13 shooting to will the Buffs to victory.

Colorado's Spencer Dinwiddie, right, drives against Stanford's Chasson Randle during the first half of Wednesday's game in California.
(
Ben Margot
)

"I knew I was going to go. No matter what I was going to play," said Roberson, who also had eight rebounds and played 37 minutes. "It was a big game for us in the standings and tournament-wise. It was just a matter of how well I was going to play."

The game came down to the final play. Stanford's Josh Powell received a pass with 2.2 seconds left and soared in for a dunk as the buzzer sounded.

After a video review by officials, which gave the Buffs flashbacks to their controversial loss at Arizona, it was ruled that the ball was still in Powell's hands as time expired.

"I had a pretty good view," said CU's Sabatino Chen, whose game-winning 3-pointer in Tucson on Jan. 3 was waved off by officials up further review, leading to the Wildcats' 92-83 win in overtime. "It was clearly in his hands when the light went off."

Advertisement

Spencer Dinwiddie continued his late-season candidacy for Pac-12 player of the year with 19 points, four rebounds, three steals and an assist.

But after scoring with 26.2 seconds left to put CU up 63-59, Dinwiddie was assessed a technical foul for interfering with the ball as it came out of the net. The sophomore point guard, who was 6-for-7 at the free throw line, also missed the front end of a one-and-one with a chance to ice the game in the final seconds.

"Nobody we'd rather have on the line at the end of the game," CU head coach Tad Boyle said. "The technical ... we already had a warning. He actually hit the ball out of their hand. It was the right call. Spencer got caught up in the moment and he understands that."

Aaron Bright went 1-for-2 on the technical free throws. Roberson grabbed a defensive rebound and went 2-for-2 at the stripe to make the score 65-60.

"We guarded that play the way we wanted to guard it and (Powell) had 2.2 second. I'm just glad he didn't have 2.3 or 2.3," Boyle said. "This team deserved that win, deserved that break because of all we've went through this year."

Midway through the second half, Roberson knocked down a 3-pointer as the shot clock was expiring and then added another make from behind the arc and a reverse layup during a game-changing sequence.

Askia Booker capped the 10-0 spurt with a scoop in the paint to give CU a 51-45 lead with 8:29 remaining.

Noted Buff nemesis Chasson Randle (16 points) stopped the bleeding for the Cardinal with a 3-pointer.

CU had a 61-55 advantage after a Roberson basket with 3:20 remaining, but two free throws by Powell and put back by Josh Huestis closed the gap to two points in the final minute.

"I thought Dwight's move was great. He caught the ball where we thought he'd catch the ball. I thought he'd have a chance to go ahead and get a strong finish," Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins said. "But the fact that he caught it a little bit further out, he got bumped on the catch, and by the time he turned around, time was being eaten up. He still did a great job of getting to the basket. He should have just laid the ball up."

The Buffs trailed 43-33 after a 3-pointer by Randle -- who averaged 17.7 points on 18-for-42 (42.9 percent) shooting in his three previous games against CU -- with 14:40 remaining.

But Dinwiddie capped an 8-0 run with a 3-pointer and a layup in traffic to cut the deficit to two points.

The Cardinal (16-13, 7-9) was swept by USC and UCLA during its last home stand and was coming off a 77-66 loss at Oregon. The Buffs (19-8, 9-6) have won three consecutive road games and eight of their last 10 games overall.

CU can put itself in position for a top-four finish and a bye at the Pac-12 Tournament by completing a Bay Area season sweep on Saturday at Cal.

Billionaires, entertainers and athletes alike announced their intentions to pursue the Los Angeles Clippers with varying degrees of seriousness Wednesday, proving the longtime losers will be quite a prize if the NBA is able to wrest control of the team away from Donald Sterling after his lifetime ban for racist remarks. Full Story

Louie, who (like Louis) is a New York comic and a divorced father of two daughters, knows struggle and angst and cloudy wonderment. He views life through eyes with a stricken look, dwelling in a state of comfortable dread. Full Story